JUST START

Have you always wanted to write a book?

If so, then I have the # 1 best piece of advice for you —  start writing now.

So many people dream about writing, fantasize about it, talk about it, but never actually start. Starting is both the easiest and the hardest thing to do.

And it’s a new year, what better time to follow your dream?

But I don’t know where to start!

Trust me. Just start writing. Write regularly — say, 30 minutes a day for the next 30 days. Things will begin to emerge — ideas, situations, memories, characters, events, places. What you write will probably not become the first pages of your novel, but think of it as practice, getting into the groove, limbering up. Mining your brain, your imagination.

There’s an article here that might help you get moving on http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html

But starting is the key. Don’t worry about whether or not you have the right conditions, a computer, the right software, the right ideas — all this is just procrastination. I know because I’m currently working on my 16th published novel.

How I started:

I began my first book while I was backpacking around the world on my own. I’d harboured secret thoughts of writing a novel long before that, but life and a busy and stressful job had buried those dreams. Now I was on long service leave, and alone in countries where they didn’t speak English. I’ve always been a big letter writer, and I kept that up, but I had time on my hands some evenings, and stories started to spin in my brain.

So I bought a spiral backed A4 notebook and started writing them down. By the time I came home, I’d filled two large notebooks.

It took me several years before I had something ready to be published, and I had a few rejections before my first book came out, but none of that work was wasted. It all went into to honing my writing skills and educating me about writing and publishing.

But I don’t have time to write!

It’s easier than you think to carve out time to write. Even if you only manage 15 minutes or half an hour a day, that’s enough to keep the story spinning in your brain. In 15 minutes you can write a page. 365 pages and you’ve got a novel.

Of course, it’s not as simple as that — you’ll chop and edit and revise and toss out as much as you write, but in the process you’ll get addicted to writing and the time will be easier to find.

I want to write, but I don’t know what to write about!

Again, the best thing is to just start writing. Start to exercise your writing muscles and your imagination will pick up and start making suggestions. Don’t expect to have The Great Idea all at once— of course if you do, that’s fabulous.

Most fiction writers don’t have a clear idea of what their book will be about before they start. They make false starts, begin stories, discard them, ask themselves “what-if” questions, try writing scenes from different points of view and experimenting. This is normal. It is in the writing, in the wrestling with characters and situations and ideas that a story begins to emerge.

Should I do a course first?

This can be another form of procrastination. Of course, there are some good courses out there, and if you can do one, fine — but doing a course won’t get you published.  Only writing and keeping on writing, and honing your skills and submitting to publishers will.

Doing a course can kick-start your writing, can motivate you and give you a handful of useful techniques. But start writing first. That way when you find a course, you’ll be much clearer about what you want to get out of it.

If you don’t have the time or the money for a course, there are plenty of other supports for writers around. There are loads of on-line articles you can consult, and writers organizations, and small, local writers groups.

But really, the best thing you can do is just start writing. Now!

Good luck. And Happy New Year!

* * * * *

About the author:

Anne Gracie is a bestselling and award-winning Australian fiction writer, published by Berkley, USA (a division of Penguin) and Penguin Australia. Her books have been translated into 16 different languages.

Visit her website and follow her Twitter for furthermore.

Her latest book, BRIDE BY MISTAKE, goes on sale in the USA, UK and Australia on January 3rd, 2012.